A Royal Scandal
by Naseka
Summary: Clarisse's biggest secret has finally been uncovered by the media. What is the secret and how will she take it? COMPLETE! R&R PG13 just incase...
1. The Secret Is Out

This is set sometime after the second movie. R&R.

One night, Mia and Nicholas were cosily sitting on the couch in their suite watching T.V. Their program was suddenly interrupted by a newsbreak.

'Coming up in the late night news, Local Genovian bakery celebrates its 150th birthday, Police arrest a man posing as the Prime Minister and a royal secret abortion finally revealed. It seems Queen Clarisse was not as faithful as we thought. More about these stories in the late night news at ten.'

"OH…MY…GOD!" Mia gasped.

"That's your Grandmother, right?" Nicholas asked.

"Oh my god!"

"Do you think it's true?"

"Oh my god!"

"Should we go talk to her?"

Mia ran out of the suite then ran straight to Clarisse and Joe's suite. Nicholas chased after her. They burst the doors open and saw them lying on the couch with arms wrapped around each other.

"Oh my god!" Mia screamed.

"What is it, my love?" Clarisse asked.

"Didn't you watch the newsbreak?" Nicholas replied.

Joseph looked at him, "No. We were actually enjoying the benifits of privacy."

Clarisse got up and walked over to Mia, whose face was very pale, "Are you alright, my dear?"

"Grandma, you have to watch the late night news."

"What on earth for?"

"Just watch it!"

Mia held her hands tight.

"If you say so."

When it came to 9:59pm, Nicholas turned the television on and they all stood around watching.

'Good evening, I'm Carol Burn and welcome to the late night news. Former doctor of Genovia's former Queen, Clarisse Renaldi has stepped forward after 32 years and told the world about the abortion of a child which she had conceived out of wedlock in 1972. Doctor Robert Stanmen says Renaldi came in late one morning for a secret appointment. She didn't say much, only that the King Rupert (may he rest in peace) wasn't the father. Stanmen now faces charges for betrayal of confidence, but says he made more than enough money from being a snitch, to pay them.'

"Is it true, Grandma?" Mia asked.

Clarisse looked around the room, unbalanced. Joe grabbed her arm to keep her steady. She rolled her eyes back into her head and fainted.

"Nicholas, quickly. Help me carry her to the bed," Joe said.


	2. Dealing With It

(I can't believe I already have a review.)

Clarisse awoke to Joseph patting her head with a damp cloth. The others were nowhere to be seen.

"My darling, are you alright?"

"Oh Joseph. I had the most terrible dream. I dreamt that somebody dug up something about my past and the media found out and..."

"Clarisse, that was no dream."

"What?"

"That actually did happen."

She paused for a minute and sat up, "Shut up!"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Oh, nothing."

"My dear, I have a question. Actually, I have a few questions."

"Oh Joseph, not now."

"Is it true? What they said on the news?"

She nodded her head in shame.

"I see, did Rupert know?"

She shook her head, "Thank goodness he never found out."

"My dear, wasn't 1972 the year we made love for the first time?"

She gulped, "Joseph…"

There was silence.

"It was my child, wasn't it?"

She nodded her head. He held her hand in his own and looked into her eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was young, I was scared and most of all, I was a married woman. I was the Queen, for heavens sake! Queens don't sleep with their employees."

"Then why? Why did you?"

"Because you were so charming, intelligent, strong and I loved you."

"But not enough to tell me you were carrying my child?"

"I did it to protect you. Nobody would have approved of that sort of behaviour, you would have lost your job, I would have lost mine too…and a husband…"

"But you would've gained a loving husband and a stress-free life."

"Is that what you expected to happen? Did you expect me to leave my husband and run of with you to a cosy little shack where we could raise our young child? The press would have never left us alone. Rupert and the boys would have been totally humiliated…"

He silenced her with a long kiss, "I understand, Clarisse. It's just like you to put duty first."

She lay back down and sighed, "Why now? Why did they bring this up after 32 years? Does the media not have a soul?"

"It would appear that way," he pulled her into a hug, "So what's going to happen now?"

"I don't know. We could takeit one day at a time, or we could just…"

"Run away?"

"Oh, that would be heavenly, but I can't leave Mia to fight this on her own."

"Hmm. We could just ignore the press."

"You can't ignore the press. The press are everywhere."

"Well, what are we going to do then?"

"I don't know."

She hugged him tighter and felt a tear fall down her cheek.


	3. 20 Questions

The next morning at breakfast, Mia had a million questions on her mind.

"Grandma, is it true? Who was the guy? Why did you have an affair? Who was the guy? Did you love him? Who was he? Is he still alive? Does he know? Grandma? Grandma?"

"Mia! Just…be quiet, alright. The answers to your question are yes, only he and I know, because we were lonely, yes, yes and yes."

Joseph smiled.

"Oh, ok then Grandma," Mia said.

She fiddled around with her fork, but couldn't help staring at her Grandmother. Clarisse noticed her staring, "What is it?"

"Was it someone I know?"

"Oh!" Clarisse rolled her eyes back into her head and slammed her hands on the table, before exiting the room.

"My dear, I think your questioning her like that may have upset her. Perhaps it's best you leave the questioning for another time. Maybe when she's actually ready to answer in full sentences."

She sighed then widened her eyes, "Hey Joe, you're her husband, right? Did she say anything to you? Did she tell you who he was, like in a private conversation or something?"

"Miss Mia, the point of a private conversation is that it is kept private."

"So you DO know!"

"You could say that."

"Who was he? Shades?"

Joseph was disgusted, "No."

"The Viscount?"

"Hell no!"

"The Prime Minister?"

He shook his head.

"Did he have a title?"

"No. Mia, it's just a hunch, but I have a feeling that my answer to your next question and all that follow will be no. Now if you'll excuse me, I have an upset wife to attend to."

She gave Joseph a guilty smile and then turned her head to Nicholas. He smiled at her and left the table as well.

Mia decided that instead of upsetting her Grandmother, she would spend all of her free time hassling Joseph to tell her who the mystery man was.


	4. Decisions, Decisions

Clarisse had been thinking alone in her suite all day. Joseph thought it would be a good idea to check up on her and see how she was feeling.

"Clarisse, my darling, I just got off the phone with the press. They said they were willing to hold a private conference if you will oblige. It's an opportunity to tell them that the rumours are all untrue. You could clear your name and the people of Genovia would respect you again!"

She shook her head, "No Joseph, I do not wish to lie to my country. I'll think of some other way to fix up this mess. I've been thinking about it all day and I have decided that if this hasn't died down within a week, I will make a speech to the whole of Genovia."

"A wise decision? What will you be saying in this speech?"

"I haven't thought about it yet, but I have a week to think about it. Call the press and tell them what they can do with their offer, but say nothing else, understood?"

He nodded his head and walked out of the room.

Joseph walked casually down the corridor to the kitchen while Mia hung off him trying to find out who the mystery man was, "Come on, Joey, tell me who he was. Was he…"

"Stop this now! I will not tell you, I am sworn to secrecy."

"Come on, Grandpa, you can tell me. I won't tell anybody!"

"Don't you have a country to run?"

She stopped and stormed off to her office while Joseph went to make the phone call.

"Darling, I've called the press and cancelled the meeting. They were quite disappointed."

"Thankyou Joseph. You didn't say anything else, did you?"

"Of course not. My darling Clarisse, I've been thinking and I have decided that if you wish for me to come forward about this issue and tell everyone that I was the one who impregnated you, I would be happy to do so."

She cupped his cheek, "Joseph, no."

"I just don't like seeing you like this. I just thought if I came forward, the pressure would be taken off you."

"Oh, it was sweet of you to offer, but no, I'm keeping you out of all of this. It wasn't your fault. Entirely."

He gently kissed her hand and walked out of the room. He was somewhat relieved that she didn't want to accept his offer because he wasn't very good at public speaking and wouldn't know how to handle all the attention. Clarisse on the other hand had dealt with the public for most of her life and had learned to deal with it. Joseph decided that he would leave it up to her to decide what to do and support her all the way.


	5. Mia's Quest

Mia couldn't get her mind off the fact that her grandmother had cheated on her husband. She really wanted to know who the other man was. Her thoughts drifted to the maids. They knew everything apparently. Perhaps they would know something about it. Mia knew which maids were working at the palace around that time. She would go and ask them if they could shed some light on the situation.

The first person that came to mind was Mrs. Tilling. She had been working at the palace as cleaner for over 40 years. She was now in her mid 70's. Surely she would have noticed something.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Tilling, how are you?"

"Good afternoon, Queen Amelia," she curtsied, "Is there something I can do for you?"

"Actually yes. You've been working here for over 40 years now haven't you?"

"Yes Ma'am."

"Do you remember if any men spent a lot of time with my grandmother around the year 1972?"

"I'm sorry, Ma'am but my memory isn't as good as it used to be."

"Oh. So you don't remember anything? Anybody?"

She shook her head, then suddenly remembered something, "Oh, actually, I do remember the Queen spending a lot of time with that young security guard, Joseph. You know, the one she's married to. I suppose they were talking about business back then."

Mia thought to herself, 'No, it can't be him then.'

"Do you remember seeing her with anyone else?"

"No, Ma'am. Perhaps you should ask Mr. Tilling."

"Maybe I will. Thankyou for your help. Goodbye"

"Goodbye Miss Mia!"

Mia ran off to find Mr. Tilling. She figured he would be somewhere within the grounds, as he was a gardener. The man was out the back, digging up weeds.

"Oh, Mr. Tilling, may I have a word?"

"I'm fired ain't I?"

"No! No! I came to ask you something. Your wife sent me."

"Oh she did, did she?"

"Yes. I would like to know something about the year 1972."

"1972…1972…what about it?"

"You were working around the palace a lot weren't you?"

"Yes Ma'am, it was me job."

"Did you ever notice my grandmother spending lots of time with anybody in particular? Like, men?"

"This is 'bout the news isn' it?"

"Yes. So do you know of anyone?"

"Yes Ma'am."

"Oh good, who?"

"It's not me place to say, is it?"

"Oh please tell me! I'll give you a pay rise, extra holiday time, a better room! Please, please, please tell me."

"Orright, stop yer beggin' and I'll tell ya. She used to spend a lotta time with that young security lad, Joseph. You know, the one she's married to."

"Thankyou. You've been very helpful."

Mia still wasn't convinced that it was Joseph. He was too loyal. She decided to have a think about it and thought of somebody else might know something; Clarisse's own personal maid (Ms. Schuden), who had retired years ago, due to age.

Mia decided to go and visit her.

She lived in a small cottage on the edge of town.

The limo driver took Mia there. She knocked on the door and a little lady answered and invited her inside.

Mia couldn't resist just coming out with her question. Ms. Schuden told her pretty much the same thing.

"She used to spend a lot of time with that security man, Joseph. You know, the one she's..."

"Married to, I know. Listen, do you know if they were ever romantically involved?"

"I've only heard rumours. You can't tell what truth is in that place."

"Thankyou for your time."

"I hope you find what you're looking for!"

Mia smiled at the woman, then hopped back into the limo.


	6. The Buzz

Mia decided that it was time to confront her Grandmother. She was so eager to find out the answers to her questions.

Clarisse was still deep in thought. She was wondering what to say to her people. Should she tell them the truth, or take Joseph's suggestion and lie? It was a hard decision to make and she was leaning towards lying.

"My dear, I've just heard from Mr. Fawkner who heard from Ms. Watson who heard from Ms. Daily who heard from Mrs. Tilling, that Mia is onto us."

Clarisse's mouth dropped.

"Apparently she's been asking around. Trying to find out who the lucky man was."

"Oh dear. What did she find out?"

"Nothing, so I hear. The maids say that the only thing she's found out was that you and I spent a lot of time together."

"Then it's only a matter of time until she figures it out."

Joseph didn't quite know what to say, "I think we should tell her."

"What?"

"I think we should tell her."

"You know, you're right. Right as always. I…I…should explain to her in person, rather than have her find out from some saucy rumour, isn't that so?"

"I think it would be best."

Mia was seated at the kitchen table eating "iced cream" by the bucket load as she always did when she was upset.

Nicholas came up behind her and wrapped his hands around her neck, causing her to smile slightly, "I have some news."

Mia turned to face him.

"Your Grandmother and Joseph have asked me to tell you that you're to join them in their suite at nine o clock. It seems they want to tell you something."

"Are you kidding? Did they say what?"

"No, but it was implied."

"They're going to tell me right?"

He raised an eyebrow and smiled.

Mia dropped her spoon and ran straight for their suite.

"I see you got the memo," Clarisse started, "you're a little early."

"I hear you have something to tell me?"

Joseph spoke next, "Sit down, my dear. We have much to discuss."

She took a seat on the sofa with Clarisse while Joseph sat down in the armchair.

"Amelia. Mia. I've heard that you have been questioning the maids in order to find out who I was with in 1972. Joseph tells me that you're getting closer to finding out, so I thought it would be best if I told you myself, all in good time. I'm going to start from when we met, then eventually, when I've told you why we did what we did, I will tell you who his name."

"Why don't you just tell me now?"

"Because, then you won't pay attention to the rest of what I have to say. We met one day in 1967 when he came to work at the palace. It was love at first sight. He was tall, handsome, mysterious, witty…romantic. I was young, pretty, bored and feeling flirtatious."

"What did he do?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"His job. You said he came to work at the palace, so what were his duties?"

"He was a night watchman at the time. A splendid one at that. He used to walk the grounds as if he was on a mission. He took his job very seriously."

"Did you know him, Joe?"

"In a matter of speaking, yes."

Mia was getting suspicions; perhaps the rumours were true.

"Anyway. This man and I spent endless hours talking. He was my favourite companion, especially when Rupert and the boys were away. Over the years, we became closer and closer to each other. I asked Rupert if he would be willing to promote the man to my personal bodyguard. He agreed and I was so happy. We got to spend more time together than ever because we had an excuse to."

"You are one sneaky woman, Grandma."

She continued, "He would often tell me that he had feelings for me and I would tell him the same. We both knew we were in love and wanted to show each other exactly how much, the only problem was, we couldn't.

One summer, Rupert decided to take the boys on a fishing holiday and left me all alone in the big, empty palace. I decided that I should make good use of the time I had."

"So what did you do?"

"Naturally, I sent all the workers off the estate and out to dinner. Except for one in particular. He was to stay and keep me company. I think he already knew what I had in store for him, but he didn't say a word.

I led him to his room and motioned for him to go inside. He did, and I followed. We were lying down on his bed discussing whether or not we were about to make a huge mistake. He told me that if we did end up… he would not say a word to anybody about it. After lying there for a while, I decided that it probably wouldn't be a good idea, so I got up and walked to the door. He seemed to be okay with my decision but said something that made me stop and run back to him; 'The heart does things for reasons that reason cannot understand.'"

Mia glared at the smiling Joseph. That confirmed it. He had said that to her at her almost wedding. She was now convinced that the mystery man was indeed, the one who had been right under her nose. She felt shocked, yet bewildered at the same time.

"Grandma, you are going to skip the part where you and Joseph sleep together, aren't you?"

"I BEG your pardon?"

"Well, it's just…I don't want to hear all the raunchy details…"

"So you figured it out then? Well done!"

Clarisse was shocked, "JOSEPH!"

He laughed at her as she lightly smacked him on the arm.

"So what happened the day after? Was there weirdness between you two?"

"Not really. I was ashamed of myself for what I had done, yet I felt very much satisfied. I had disgraced my family and my country, but I had been given the best night of my life. I would often think to myself; 'as long as they don't find out, it's not a problem.'

That seemed to calm my nerves. I trusted Joseph and knew he wouldn't tell anybody. So I assumed they would never find out. I was quite happy with all the new emotions that I had dwelling inside of me. Little did I know that there was something else dwelling inside me too."


	7. The End of The Buzz

"So Grandma, when did you realise you were pregnant?"

"About three weeks later. Rupert and the boys were still away and I was beginning to feel very nauseated and couldn't keep my morning meals down, so I went to see the doctor. After asking a few questions and running a few tests, he gave me the news, 'Congratulations,' he said, 'There is to be another heir to the Genovian throne!'

My mouth dropped, 'Are you positive?' I asked.

'98 sure,' he replied.

I was shocked. I knew it wasn't Rupert's child. He hadn't touched me for months. I couldn't exactly just say to him, 'Rupert, darling, guess what, I'm pregnant! Oh and guess what else, it's not yours!'

I had no idea what I was going to do so I told the doctor to keep quiet.

I decided that I would sleep on it, and then decide how to handle the situation.

When I got home, Joseph was waiting for me out in the front garden. He asked how I was and if there was anything he could do for me. I didn't say a word. I tried to escape from him, but the task seemed impossible. I could sense that he knew something was wrong. I couldn't speak to him, so I ran as fast as I could up to my suite. He was very good at keeping up with me, 'What's the matter?' he would say, 'What did the doctor say?'

I tried to ignore him as I made my way through the door and locked it behind me.

Finally, I was alone. I let the tears come out and paced the room. I then collapsed on the floor and cried some more.

A little bit later, I felt a hand on my shoulder, 'You forgot to lock the secret door,' Joseph said. He asked me again what was wrong and I threw myself into his arms. I then made it clear to him that I didn't want to talk about it and he left it at that.

I had a hard time getting to sleep that night. Joseph didn't want me to be left alone so he comforted me while I thought about what I was going to do."

"And when did you decide?"

"A few days later. It was the hardest decision I ever had to make. I decided that I would see my good friend (at the time), Doctor Robert Stanmen, to arrange a time for him to initiate the procedure and remove the child. I chose the following Monday and that was that! I told him that what happened in that room was never to leave it, Rupert and the boys came back two days after and I felt I had nothing to worry about. And that is the whole story."

"Wait a minute, what happened with you, Joe?"

"Eventually, Clarisse informed me that we should stop being lovers because we were bound to get caught. She then suggested that we should remain friends. After that I told her that if she ever became available, I would woo her once more. And I succeeded in my task, several years later…"

"So," Clarisse started, "now that you know the full story, you can stop hassling us and go to bed now."

"Stop hassling you? You want me to stop hassling you? Grandma, you are such a hypocrite! Do you remember a few years ago when you were yelling at me for being in a closet with Nicholas when I was engaged to Andrew? Well that's nothing because you were married and you slept with someone else! And Joe, I thought you were a decent, honourable man, but boy was I wrong…"

Mia stormed out of the room and headed towards her suite.

"MIA!" Clarisse yelled from the door.

"I'm beginning to think we shouldn't have told her," said Joseph.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about it. She'll be over it by tomorrow…"

"I hope you're right. I'm not used to her being angry at me."

"Consider yourself lucky, she's absolutely furious with me."

A little later, Joseph walked over to the stereo which was on top of the dresser, "I know what will ease your troubles," he said, pressing the play button.

Music began to play, "Oh, Joseph, I'm not in the mood. I've just spent the last half hour talking continuously and I didn't get much sleep last night."

"So you're not feeling up to dancing the Wango?"

She smiled and watched him as he started dancing with her bathrobe.

"Well you've got me all jealous now…"

She joined him and the two danced together, deep into the night.


	8. The Speech, the End

Mia had been giving Clarisse the "evil eye" all week. When they were working together in the office, Clarisse would be explaining something important and Mia would just sit there, pretending to be looking out the window. When they were seated at the table for dinner, Mia would just stare evilly as she ate. In the evenings, she would spend her time talking to everybody else but her.

Clarisse was being stubborn too. She tried apologizing once, but that was only because Joseph had forced it out of her.

It was the next day and Clarisse was to give her speech to Genovia. She knew pretty much what things she was going to say, but wasn't quite sure if they were the right things. She planned to tell them a bit of the truth mixed in with a bit of the twisted-truth. She had told Joseph two days before to invite the press and the entire population of Genovia to attend the meeting at the town square.

There was a large stage set up on the side, which she would give her speech from.

Joseph and Mia walked on stage first and sat down in their allocated chairs. Clarisse was waiting backstage, still trying to decide if she was going to tell a mixture of truth and untruth or if she was going to speak straight from the heart.

"Announcing Clarisse Renaldi, former Queen of Genovia!"

Clarisse couldn't move. She was nervous for the first time in years. She listened as her name was called again and again, but still did not move. Joseph was getting suspicious, so he ran backstage to see what was the matter.

"Clarisse, my dear. What's wrong? Why aren't you out there?"

"I can't. I can't go out there and lie to them," she spoke with such hurt in her voice, "They've spent most of their lives looking up to me and respecting me."

Joseph tried to think of something to say which would both comfort her and give her a gleam of hope, "Then don't. Don't lie to them. Tell them the truth. Tell them everything. Tell them how we found ourselves accidentally falling in love. Tell them how we bought happiness and meaning into each other's lives. Tell them how good it felt to finally kiss the only person you've ever loved for the first time. I'll be right here beside you."

She smiled as he kissed her forehead and held her hand. Her name was announced once more and they came out together and walked to the center of the stage where the microphone was. They stood in silence for a minute until she spoke.

"My fellow Genovians, I have summoned you all here on this wonderful autumn day to talk to about love.

In 1962 I met a man and married him a week later. You remember my husband, Rupert."

"KING RUPERT, MAY HE REST IN PEACE!" The crowd chorused.

"You all saw Rupert as a loyal and loving king, father and husband, but I only saw him as a king, a father and a friend. Rupert and I were never in love like most of you thought; we were merely two friends who played happy families in the public eye. We shared very little intimacy and spent hardly any time alone together. I would be lying if I said we didn't get along well, there was fondness there but that was all. I felt empty and unhappy for years and often pondered the reason for my existence. I needed to be fulfilled.

May I ask anyone who has ever been in a loveless relationship to raise their hand?"

A few people did.

"Keep your hand up if that relationship involved marriage."

Many people put their hands down.

"And is it really a happy way to live?"

The people shook their heads and talked among themselves until Clarisse asked for silence.

"In 1967, I met a wonderful caring man with whom I fell in love with and believe it or not, married 37 years later."

The people talked among themselves again, after realising she was talking about Joseph.

"He made me feel special and needed. He showed me why life was worth living. He bought happiness and fulfilment into my life and for that, I am truly grateful. Now, It is true that he and I did have an affair while I was still married, but I feel that it was well worth while, because I was happy for the first time in years."

She kissed Joseph and the whole crowd started talking to each other again.

"Excuse me, I haven't finished yet. I haven't gotten to the matter of the abortion. To clear things up, yes, Joseph and I did sleep together during my marriage to King Rupert and yes, I did fall pregnant from it.

I had a hard time deciding what to do about it, but decided that in order to save my family and country from humiliation, I would to give it up. After that, I told Joseph that our relationship was to be strictly business. He wasn't too happy because he wasn't sure what he had done wrong; he didn't know about the child, you see.

It was the best-kept secret in Genovia.

At this point, Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to ask you all for your forgiveness. If I could earn your forgiveness, I would feel much happier."

They were hesitant and Clarisse was getting worried, "Joseph," she whispered, "What do I do? I don't know what else to say!"

Mia noticed that her Grandma was distressed, so she swallowed her pride and stepped up to the microphone, "People, what my Grandmother is trying to say is that if she can give up on the only man she ever loved just to make her country happy, then her country should be able to give up their love of being angry at her and forgive her for making that one mistake. She was your loyal queen for over 42 years and now that you've found out one dark little secret from her past, you're turning your back on her. She would never have done that to you. She wouldn't hold a grudge against you if she found out your darkest secret. How many people have ever done something so horrible that they wish they could take it back? All I ask is that you forgive her and make her feel as welcome as she has made you feel over the past years."

One person in the crowd started clapping. The rest then started cheering aswell, "Cla-risse! Cla-risse! Cla-Risse!"

Clarisse had tears streaming down her cheeks and a big smile on her face. Mia stepped down and ran into her arms.

"Thankyou, my dear."

"You're welcome, Grandma."

Joseph (feeling left out) joined in on the embrace, and then they all walked to the front of the stage, hand-in-hand.

Clarisse was glad when everything went back to normal, and she felt on top of the world, once again.

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The End.

Thankyou to all who have reviewed this story. I enjoyed writing it and this last chapter took me about 2 nights (4hrs or so) to type, because I was having trouble with Clarisse's speech.

Pretty soon, I will write a sequelish kind of story but it's not really a sequel because it's just a slightly more detailed and changed version of Clarisse's story (as asked).

Yeah, so thanks for reading and keep an eye out for more in the future…I might start writing it now, actually.


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